Simon Cowell and Ben Cartwright are the same person.
OK, not literally. After all, Lorne Greene, who played the Ponderosa patriarch on “Bonanza,” the NBC Western that ran from 1959-1973, has been dead for nearly two decades.
But the character he played and the character Cowell plays – and don’t kid yourself that Cowell is not playing a role on “American Idol” – are strikingly similar.
This comes to mind after doing a little television time travel, a journey you too can make courtesy of the TV Land channel and sundry DVD packages.
Watching episodes of “Bonanza,” the most popular show of 1966, back-to-back with “Idol,” its counterpart in the top slot 40 years later, demonstrates that the more pop culture changes, the more it stays the same. From channeling the American dream to avoiding the perils of politics, popular TV shows of both eras offer a window on our values.
Does this sound like a stretch? Think about it.
When it comes to the Cowell/Cartwright roles, both are “very stern father figures. That’s probably the appeal of both shows, as a surrogate family,” said Randy Clark, an assistant professor at Clayton State University in Atlanta who has studied ’60s TV extensively.
And both characters have the often unpleasant task of telling people the harsh truth, whether they want to hear it or not. Of course, Cartwright never ridiculed people or told them they were fat, but you get the idea.
Fran Matera, an associate professor of journalism at Arizona State University, agrees with the dad theory and says there are plenty of other similarities.
Consider these parallels.
The dream: Both encapsulate versions of the American dream. Ben Cartwright started from humble beginnings and ended up owning a massive ranch and had three sons. The entire point of “Idol,” of course, is to give aspiring music stars a shot at the big money, a recording contract and the ultimate dream in this country, fame.
Sponsors: “Bonanza,” sponsored by RCA, was one of the few shows shot in color, specifically to promote sales of color TVs, then a rarity in American homes. “That was a marketing decision to get people to make a purchasing decision,” Matera said. “It was strictly commerce-based.
“‘American Idol’ and the commercial aspect is even broader because it serves as a platform for other products,” she pointed out. “It’s a great advertising vehicle.”
A Coke anyone?
Rituals: “They both have to do with rituals of sorts. In the era of ‘Bonanza,’ you had fewer networks, but it was an event, a destination show,” Matera said. The ritual is obvious with “Idol” as the contestants – and more than 30 million viewers a night – gather up to three times a week to watch performances and then cut some contestants loose.
The audience: Both shows are Nielsen heavyweights. In its three-network era, “Bonanza” in 1966 drew a rating of 31.8 and a share, or percentage of TVs tuned to the show, of 48. In other words, nearly half of all Americans watching TV on Sunday night were watching Bonanza. “Idol” for the first week in March, drew a 17 rating and a 25 share for its Tuesday night show.
For all the similarities, of course, these are very different shows and very different eras. One of the sharpest contrasts over that 40-year span is shown in how popular culture liked to imagine American values. It’s pretty clear in “Bonanza”: What was important was family, hard work, character and helping out your neighbor.
On “Idol,” it is “much more ‘so what’s in it for me,”‘ Matera said. Clark adds the Cartwrights “really are sharing their largesse. On ‘American Idol’ it’s … much more of a competitive thing.”
Maybe there is an even more telling similarity. Get in the TV time-travel machine again and imagine going another 40 years into the future and watching recordings of both shows. Although each was broadcast during a time when America was embroiled in an unpopular war and the president in each era was watching his popularity drop as a result, you will see no hint of that on these popular shows.
Clark said that should not be a surprise. In the 1960s, most shows avoided political topics, and “Bonanza” steered clear of even allegorical references to the Vietnam War. Then and now, he said, “I think people want that kind of reassurance” that the world is OK and not a scary place.
Well, it actually is a scary place, but only if you blow your song and have to face Simon Cowell.
Staff writer Edward P. Smith can be reached at 303-820-1767 or esmith@denverpost.com.
